Sony A100 Question

I have the opportunity to pick up an A 100 and

 18-70mm Lens
 75-300mm Lens
 500mm Reflex Super Telephoto Lens
 Remote Control Commander
 Lithium-Ion (NP-FM55H) & charger
 Sony HVL-F42AM Flash (Light)

for around $800.00. I have had a Canon in the past that was stolen from me. Would like to get back into the game. Is this deal still worth it? I have read many reviews on the camera and it seems like quite the deal. All though all these reviews are from when the camera first shipped.

Is there any users that have had one and now wish they would of gotten something else or is this the deal of the month for me?

Thanks for all the input!!!

If the 500 is a sony or minolta its OK I have heard the others are junk.

The a100 go for $250 or so the flash is worth $200 the 75-300 maybe $125 or so I guess. Depends on the 500 I guess.

I think you may be better off buying a newer camera like the slts or a5xx or something. THe a100 is very good at low iso and pretty solid build with OK viewfinder, but its onboard flash has a lazy eye problem I believe and it not the fastest camera and not the best with high ISO

THe 18-70 kit is only worth maybe $30-40

SO
a100 $250-300
F42 $200
75- $125
500 ? is the key to value, and do you need this lens?
18- $40

Total maybe $700 on the high side plus unknown 500 (if its sony or minolta then its a decent deal if thats what you need.

The newer alpas are better at high ISO and quicker frame rates, it just depends on what you shoot as to if this is a good enough deal.

Thanks...

The 500 is a Sony SAL-500F80 500mm f/8 LENS. Most of the camera work that I do was wildlife and boat living...

Sounds like I am going to pick it up just for the lenses and what not and look to upgrade the body at a sooner but later date. Seems like a good enough deal for me to get back into it.. thanks again for the input!

It is a great camera with maybe the best IQ of all the 10mp CCD sensor cameras at low ISO (that includes many great cameras that uses this Sony sensor).

The first two lenses are OK, the 500mm is more interesting (if it is AF Minolta or Sony), the flash is good.

My 18-70 is a good copy (but I use the Tamron 17-50 instead), the 75-300 is light but mediocre.

Here 800$ would be a great deal.

+ good ergometrics
really good IQ at low ISO
good build with few reported problems

• unreliable flash (maybe not with the 42)

compared to competition not good at higher ISO (max 1600 - and not really useable) but the visible grain at medium high iso (400-800) is filmlike and looks good in print

check out dyxum.com for all amount lens reviews

The 500 is worth quite a bit itself so with you needing that reach also, not a bad deal.

You have both helped.. Thanks a ton.. I am going to go pick it up here in a couple of hours. I will shoot some around the city if i have time and see what happens.. thanks again!!

Likely too late, but I have an A-100 with nearly 90,000 clicks on the shutter. Excellent camera. However, I'd say the group is a fair deal, but likely not a great deal. The body is worth about $200 if it's in good shape. The lenses are just so-so except for the 500mm and it's sort of a niche lens. Very sharp, but slow focusing and needs good light to perform. There's also the donut bokeh you'll get on many shots.
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AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!

As an owner of an Alpha 100 since they came out, all I can say that in many respects it's a very good camera, but it does take a CF card which has to be lined up with a bunch of tiny pins in the memory card slot. As I found out the hard way, unless you are very careful in inserting the card it's easy to bend a pin and very expensive to get it fixed. Enjoy the camera. It was my first digital DSLR and while not as fast to focus as the 550, or as good in high ISO, it is capable of taking some great photos.

Hi

dander88 said:

Thanks...

The 500 is a Sony SAL-500F80 500mm f/8 LENS. Most of the camera work that I do was wildlife and boat living...

Click to expand...

If it wasn't the Sony reflex I'd say the asked price would be too high. When the A100 was sold new 3-4 years back the double kit (with 18-70 and 75-300) was about 800-900.

Just check that the mirror comes with both standard insert filters (one clear glass and a ND filter).

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Cheers,
Michael Fritzen

No hesitation recommending A100. Capable of good quality pictures. With right lens can be very sharp. It is fairly poor at higher ISO. I mainly use ISO 100 and 200, ocassionally 400. I imaginefor wildlife and an f/8 telephoto you may need to up the ISO to short enough shutter speeds. There is no doubt that the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw i.e V6.* does a better job with high ISO noise.

Thank you very much, I am going to go look at the camera in 30 min - Hope all is in good shape. After all the opinions still seems like it is a good deal. Thanks to all who helped me out.. Pictures to come with the old school A100 soon!!

Thanks Again all...

FYI I use the A100 with the 500mm Sony lens and stick the camera on auto-iso which means it ranges form 100-400. Noise is fine at these ISO's and setting it to auto-iso gets over the fixed aperture limitation of the mirror lens to a degree.

The ability of digital cameras to change ISO makes mirror lenses a lot more useful than back in the days of film where if you were loaded with ISO 100 film and the clouds came along you were rather stuffed!

Oh and as to the doughnut bokeh with the 500mm, you will see that a lot less than some would have you believe. It only occurs if there are highlights in the frame such a the sun reflecting off the sea.